Warm Embrace
by Anasipheyn
Summary: [BoO Spoilers alert] Ever since reading about Apollo and Artemis on The Titan's Curse, I LOVED the dual. I was extremely frustrated to not see what had actually happened to Apollo after when Zeus said he was blamed for the war so I decided to write that myself. It starts with when the 7 demigods and Olympians had finished fighting the Giants together. Warning: TWINCEST
1. Chapter 1

**[BoO Spoilers alert] Ever since reading about Apollo and Artemis on The Titan's Curse, I LOVED the dual. I was extremely frustrated to not see what had actually happened to Apollo after when Zeus said he was blamed for the war so I decided to write that myself. It starts with when the 7 demigods and Olympians had finished fighting the Giants together.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the PJO series or any of the characters here. Hope you will enjoy reading this as much as I do writing it!**

* * *

After the war, Apollo hid in the shadow of a column. Deep inside, he knew that despite his best efforts to help with the fight and stopping of the war, Father Zeus would still blame him. The gods loved pointing fingers, as if that would salvage all problems. Thousands of years of living, one would have thought that they would be wiser to know that it cannot solve anything, but it did not seem to be happening anytime soon.

Apollo thought of all the possible punishments his father might give him and shivered slightly. What sort of torture would Zeus give him this time? He certainly did not want to go to the mortal world again to be in their service. What if he met a horrible host this time? Or will Zeus take away his prophetic powers?

_It is going to be alright, brother_, Artemis' voice said in his head. She was standing with him, even though Zeus' idea of a main culprit was him.

Apollo was grateful for his twin sister. Despite Artemis had always said that he was annoying and not brave as that certain _demigod _she compared him with, she would be here for him still. He longed to hold her in his arms- It could always calm him down but he did not want to seem weak.

Hera, Poseidon and Demeter were having an intense discussion in a corner. Nike was trying give Hecate the golden laurel wreath but Hecate swatted it away. Hermes sneaked close to Athena and tried to put his arm around her but Athena shoo-ed him away with Aegis. Ares was having a fun time talking with his new favourite son, Frank Zhang, who did not seem to be enjoying the conversation as much as his dad did.

'Brethen,' Zeus announced, 'we are healed, thanks to the work of these demigods. The Athena Parthenos, which once stood in this temple, now stands at Camp Half-Blood. It has united our offspring, and thus our own essences.'

After his speech, there were some enquiries and interruptions from both gods and demigods, which Apollo could not listen to. He was too caught up in his own fear and emotions that the worst had yet to come. Even though his essence is reunited, he could still feel the paranoia coursing through his veins.

_Stay strong, Apollo_, Artemis urged telepathically, _I will be here for you._

'Apollo, however …' Zeus said, 'My son, come here.'

Hearing Zeus said his name made Apollo snapped up in fright. Zeus was glaring at where he and Artemis were standing. Apollo inched forward, not daring to disobey the king of gods. He could not hide his fear well enough. He could sense the demigods noticing his plight but that was not something to be bothered with for now. Apollo knew his sister feared for him as well but she was doing a better job at hiding it.

The three fates gathered around Apollo and circled him, their withered hands raised.

Apollo was usually uncomfortable when he was near these old women. Now that they had surrounded him, he felt very panicky.

'Twice you have defied me,' Zeus said.

Apollo moistened his lips. 'My – my lord –'

'You neglected your duties. You succumbed to flattery and vanity. You encouraged your descendant Octavian to follow his dangerous path, and you prematurely revealed a prophecy that may _yet _destroy us all.'

'But –'

'Enough!' Zeus boomed. 'We will speak of your punishment later. For now, you will wait on Olympus.'

Zeus flicked his hand and Apollo felt himself turning into glitter - literally. The fates swirled around him, dissolving into air, and the glittery whirlwind shot into the sky, as the fates led him back to Olympus.

When they reappeared on Olympus, the fates prodded him towards the centre of the throne room and forced Apollo to kneel in front of the empty Zeus throne while they waited for the return of the rest of the Olympians.

He looked down at the floor, not daring to move or even look up. The three fates hobbled in a small circle around him, chanting in a language so ancient, even the all-knowing Apollo could not understand.

Hestia crackled at the hearth and raised an eyebrow. 'Old habits never change, don't they?' Hestia said. 'Zeus had to blame it on someone.'

Apollo sighed.

After what seemed like an eternity, the Olympians materialised at the entrance of the throne room in a shower of gold and walked with grace towards their respective thrones. Athena and Hermes threw sympathetic glances at Apollo. Some others like Hephaestus and Hera glared at him with hatred.

Apollo looked around for his sister, she could lend him her strength for a while. Apollo was scared stiff. Artemis came and stood with determination next to her twin brother and kneeled with him after Zeus had taken his place. He let out a small sigh of relieve as he felt the familiar feeling of fighting side by side with Artemis, even if they might be on the losing end.

At their thrones, Dionysus fiddled with grape vines in boredom. Poseidon twirled his trident absentmindedly and Ares was watching the war at Camp Half-Blood through an Iris-message.

'Olympians,' Zeus said. 'What punishments shall we bring upon this traitor?'

Apollo's eyes stung. Zeus called him a _traitor_.

'Hold on, my lord,' Artemis said. 'I believe there is some misunderstandings involved and Apollo should not be solely blamed for the war. He is not a traitor either. With all fair judgement as his sister and your daughter, I must say that he did tried his best to make up for what he did wrong.'

'It is all his fault that the war started. He must be punished severely for it,' Zeus bellowed.

Apollo flinched. 'My lord, I –'

'I expect only silence from you, boy.'

'Y-yes, as you wish, my lord.'

'Apollo is a very important god and many mortals worshipped him,' Artemis insisted. 'I am strongly against any severe punishment towards him.'

'That is true,' Athena agreed. 'You could say that Apollo has been cheated over to Octavian's side by flattery but Octavian –'

'Oh look at this!' Ares interrupted. He waved his hand and the Iris-message enlarged into a larger screen, revealing itself to the rest of the Olympians.

In the image, Apollo could see Octavian fiddling with an Onager, furiously re-adjusting the machine's targeting level. After exchanging a few sentences with Nico and one of Apollo's sons, he fired himself towards where Leo, Jason and Piper were fighting Gaia in the air, yelling something like _goodbye, Gaia! Goodbye, Jason Grace the traitor!_

Apollo growled in loathing at the sight of his descendant that caused him to be in this plight but watching him plunge to his own death in the hopes of being remembered as the saviour of Rome was funny. Apollo snorted. No one will remember him that way.

'Brother, this boy here is the one who should be blamed if you must.' Hades chuckled at his son. Nico had finally taken his wise advice that some deaths cannot be prevented, and had allowed Octavian's suicide mission.

Hephaestus, Aphrodite and Zeus watched in horror as Octavian shot towards their children.

'If anything happened to Jason –' Zeus glowered at Apollo and he flinched again.

At the last possible second, Leo's dragon Festus dropped Jason and Piper, and became a ball of fire before colliding with Octavian-the-blazing-comet. Giant eagles plucked Jason and Piper out of the sky as the explosion turned the entire sky gold.

Hephaestus' jaw dropped and glanced at the lord of the dead anxiously. Hades just frowned and shook his head.

'This is all your fault!' Hephaestus yelled at Apollo, summoning balls of flames in his hands, his eyes on fire.

'Lord Hephaestus,' Artemis stepped in between Apollo and Hephaestus with a frown. 'Do not blame it on Apollo, he did not ask that foolish boy to kill anyone. Besides, we all know he had that cure with him.'

'We have more important things to discuss now, regarding Apollo,' Zeus said. 'We will talk about Leo Valdez later.'

'But - '

'Not now, my son'

'Yes, my lord,' Hephaestus said, though his nostrils were still fuming.

Artemis turned to Zeus. 'My lord, allow us a chance to explain ourselves. After which, if you still insist on punishing Apollo, so be it.'

Zeus sighed but he nodded. 'You were at fault too, Artemis. Do not forget that.'

'Yes, my lord,' Artemis said. 'I had asked for Dike to come here. She would be arriving any minute now.'

Apollo gasped and a glimmer of hope flickered in his eyes. Dike was the goddess of justice and she might be able to talk some sense into his father. If they managed to get out of this safe and sound, he swore upon the River Styx that he would tell his sister that she is as amazing as he is.

After a few seconds of silence, the entrance of the throne room burst into starry lights. Dike approached the throne of Zeus and knelt in respect before the king of gods.

'I am here, my lord,' Dike said.

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**A/N: So... my first chapter of the continuation of that series in the gods' POV is completed! Thanks so much for reading! Reviews are appreciated~ I do accept constructive feedback. Follow + fav!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Here is the second chapter! Thank you every single one of you especially those who had fav/followed/reviewed, I thought no one would bother reading at first hehe.**

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Artemis smiled at Dike as she walked past and greeted Zeus. As the goddess of justice, Dike might just be able to assure Zeus that Apollo is not the main culprit of the war, and should certainly not be solely blamed for it.

'My lord,' Artemis said, 'Perhaps the goddess of justice may enlighten you.'

Zeus nodded and gestured at Dike to speak. The three fates stood by the throne of Zeus.

'Father Zeus,' Dike said, 'Artemis has spoken to me about what is happening. Let me assure you, justice does not work by pushing all the blame onto a single person. Besides, Apollo cannot alter the future in any ways, he could only reveal prophesies, whether revealed early or not, it still had to come true someday.'

Zeus narrowed his eyes. 'You're saying Apollo is not in the wrong?'

'No, my lord. Everyone plays a part. Apollo did involve himself by supporting that foolish descendant of his. That does not mean that he is the _only_ culprit in the war. As far as I am concern, some of us had been neglecting the signs and thus failing to_ postpone_ a major event that will happen sooner or later anyway.'

'So I should punish every single one of you, I suppose?'

Artemis watched as the throne room burst out in protest.

'Are you kidding me?' Dionysus complained, 'As if I don't already have an ongoing punishment!'

'Since Hades had been such a stuck up good-for-nothing, can we send him as our representative for punishment?' Demeter said.

Hades stood up in defiance and cursed in ancient Greek. 'Enough, lady of the cereal! How am I even stuck –?'

'You're an annoying piece of schist!'

Hades roared. The tortured-soul fabric stirred in his cloak.

'In the name of Styx, are you serious, father?' Ares yelled.

Hephaestus flicked a fireball across the room in anger. 'I just lost my favourite son!'

The fireball hit Poseidon's left foot and he yelped. He grabbed his trident and started to point it at Hephaestus.

'Peace, Olympians.' Artemis interrupted the mayhem. 'The council is still in process.'

'You're all ruining my make-up,' Aphrodite said, her charmspeak working into the Olympians. 'Stop that.'

'Woah look, the chaste goddess and the love goddess working as one!' Hermes mused. Artemis and Aphrodite ignored him.

The gods and goddesses returned to their places after giving one another the death stare. All except Dike, Apollo and Artemis, who resumed their position in front of Zeus' throne.

Artemis glanced nervously at Dike and she returned the look with a determined expression.

'I would recommend you to give it some more thought before carrying out any kind of punishments, my lord,' Dike said after everyone had calmed down. 'Is it really necessary?'

Zeus regarded the goddess of justice. 'If I forgive every time, people are just going to keep making the same mistakes. They have to learn from it. I insist on punishments. You, of everyone here, should be clear on that.'

Dike curtsied in respect. 'If that is the case, how are you planning to do that, father?'

The air filled with static as Zeus considered said question. The Olympians sat by the edge of their seats as they await Zeus' final verdict.

'As I cannot punish everyone at once, I have to do it group by group,' Zeus decided. 'Each group will receive a different set of punishments. I shall start with the Dionysus and the twins. Dionysus will have another extra 50 years of service at Camp Half-Blood. Artemis and Apollo will also serve at Camp Half-Blood and oversee our children for until I decided you can return.'

Artemis's eyes widened. 'But father –'

'Do not disobey me.'

'What about my hunt?'

'It is because of your dedication to the hunt that caused–' Zeus glanced at Dike, 'partly caused this war.'

'Father, I do it to keep the monsters under control.' Artemis insisted.

'Fine. You get Saturdays off for your hunting party.'

Artemis decided that was about the best negotiation she could ask Zeus to offer so she did not protest any further, even though one day per week was not enough. She just had to put her huntresses under the guidance of her loyal Lieutenant Thalia for now.

Apollo, however, was not so lucky.

'Father, what about m–'

Zeus glared at Apollo and he lost the courage to speak again, developing a sudden interest in the mosaic floors.

'Oh goody,' Dionysus said. 'Baby-sitting with help from my favourite twin siblings.'

Zeus waved his hand and Dionysus disappeared in a shower of gold, along with Artemis and Apollo, headed towards Camp Half-Blood.

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**A/N: I'm twisting it back to Camp Half-Blood, this time with Artemis and Apollo in it! This is going to be so cute and epic :p **

**Thank you for reading and supporting. Mean alot. :) xx**


	3. Chapter 3

To be honest, Apollo liked the punishment.

In the sense that his favourite sister is glued with him by law; she was not allowed to run off with her huntresses where he could not directly look out for her.

Except Saturdays, of course. Saturday would be his worry day.

Apollo loved Artemis. Ever since she got kidnapped, he had made it a personal mission to keep her safe, no matter what it takes. Artemis did not know of that mission. Her pride would be hurt. Still, Apollo would always want to make sure she was safe. He would do anything to ensure of that.

When they reached Camp Half-Blood, Chiron's jaw dropped as Artemis grudgingly explained their arrival.

'Well … I suppose arrangements could be made,' Chiron said as he led them into the Big House. 'I am the activities director of this Camp and ol' Dionysus was the Camp director. Now that you– Artemis and Apollo are here, we could split the chores.'

They sat in a circle around the pinochle table. Dionysus waved his hand and cans of diet coke appeared on the table. 'Diet coke?' he offered.

Artemis politely declined. Chiron sighed and shook his head. Apollo popped open one of the can's tab and sniffed hesitantly at it. He took a small sip and exclaimed, 'This is great! You should give it a try, sis!' as he emptied the contents into his mouth.

'Wine would have been better,' Dionysus complained. Thunder rolled overhead in dissent, reminding him of his other punishment and Dionysus pouted.

'What can we do for the Camp?' Artemis asked Chiron grimly, ignoring her brothers.

'As I had suggested, my lady, Camp Director could be split up,' Chiron said. 'I was thinking instead of a single Camp Director, the three of you could be in charge of the administrations, quests, logistics and finances.'

'We could take turns and switch chores every once in a while!' Apollo suggested enthusiastically.

Artemis took charge. 'I will take quest. Dionysus, you will deal with the administration until my brother and I familiarised ourselves with the campers. Apollo, logistics and finances are yours. And, no haikus.'

As Apollo was about to protest, Chiron said, 'Yes, then Apollo and I will be working together closely. Logistics and activities go about the same line. Now, allow me the honours to show you around Camp.'

* * *

Dionysus insisted that he did not need the tour so he stayed back at the Big House for a game of pinochle with the satyrs.

As they walked around the Camp, the campers' eyes widened as they saw the twin gods followed Chiron. Every time somebody opened their mouths and start to say something, Chiron stopped them with a nervous glance that seemed to say, _I'll explain later_.

Apollo caught a glimpse of his son, Will Solace holding hands with Hades' boy, Nico. He did a double take and Nico quickly released his hand, turned and made his way towards his cabin, as though nothing had happened.

'Nico!' Apollo called out.

Nico froze in his tracks and unwillingly faced Apollo. 'Yes, sir?'

Apollo grinned, pretending to be oblivious to the huge waves of emotions that Nico was experiencing within. As the god of prophecy, he knew exactly how Nico was feeling. Nico's thoughts entertained him a lot, especially when he said timidly in his mind, _Will's dad is about to interrogate me_…

'Take good care of my son!' Apollo said cheekily and winked at Nico.

He turned towards Artemis who chided, 'Do not make fun of him, Apollo. He had went through enough hardships.'

'This is going to be fun!' Apollo replied as Artemis sighed in exasperation.

He noticed as Percy Jackson tried to skirt around his cabin towards Annabeth, trying not to get the attention of the twin gods.

'Percy!' Apollo shouted again and spread his arms wide as if expecting Percy to give him a hug.

Percy spun around and laughed nervously. 'Hey uh … Lord Apollo and Lady Artemis. You're looking better than the last time I saw you, my lord. What brings you both here?'

'We're going to be here to take over the camp!' Apollo flashed a smile at Percy, almost blinding him with his teeth that was so white, it almost shone with intensity.

Artemis sighed again and explained patiently about what they were really here for. Percy nodded and forced a smile. 'Ah … That's great. Welcome to Camp Half-Blood.'

* * *

During dinner, Artemis sat at table eight with two of her hunters whom she had invited to join them earlier on. Apollo sat with his children at table seven, just right next to her. While the other campers chatted nervously at their tables, Apollo's children were tense and careful in their actions, not daring to speak.

'Come on, children! Why the long face?' Apollo complained after everyone finished their meals.

Before any of them could reply, Dionysus stood up with a heave and announced to the crowd. 'Yes hello, the usual protocols again. I must say that now instead of a single camp director, you have three. So there you go, Artemis will be in charge of your quests, Apollo your logistics and finances and I, your administration and whatever. Chiron presently still remains as the activities director and so far here's the agreed plan so yeah, let's welcome the twin archers and all.'

The campers clapped half-heartedly. Apollo could read their thoughts, _Mr D was bad enough. Would Mr A and Miss A be making our lives even more miserable_?

'Hey you guys!' Apollo said, 'You can call me Mr Awesome. And my little sister here–'

'I am not his little sister,' Artemis quickly explained. 'I was born first.'

The campers looked from Artemis and Apollo as if they did not know what to make of their arrival. One thing for sure, they would have to endure the twins' bickering every day now.

Apollo beamed at the crowd, trying to bring their spirits up. 'See you later at the campfire, everyone! I have a few new songs I could teach all of you if you guys don't disappoint me. Also, I expect every single one of you here to write a haiku by then and we'll have a haiku competition while we're at it!'

Artemis, the campers and everyone else forgot how to close their mouths as they bore their eyes at Apollo, not quite believing that he had given them that strange task.

'What?' Apollo grinned. Looks like nobody would be calling him Mr Awesome for now, but he did not mind it a single bit. He turned to Artemis and was amused by her tight expression. Apollo threw his arms around Artemis, gracing her with his bear hugs while she tried to push him away.

'Cheer up, sis! This is going to be the most fun punishment we'll ever get!'

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**A/N: Hope you guys like the story so far~ Idk, Apollo and Artemis are just soo cute, I'm trying to show it here, Idk if it's working or not haha. I'll update sooner or later this week, hopefully :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Here is chapter four! This chapter is focused mainly on Artemis and Apollo, almost like a one-shot. I HAVE to share how and why I love this pair so much. This is what I feel they would do when it's just Artemis and Apollo alone.**

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It was a cold night and all the campers had went to bed.

Artemis strolled along the empty beach at Camp Half-Blood, letting the waves washed around her bare feet as her toes dug softly into the wet sand. It was a comfortable feeling and it helped to clear her mind off the issues at camp.

Transferring to this new environment and training _male_ heroes made her feel out-of-place. She was glad for the peace that the beach at night could bring. She held her hands towards the full moon in the sky and willed it to shine brighter. She felt so at ease in the nights, and it was rare she could trot on her uncle's domain, since she had always been roaming the forests.

Artemis sat on dry sand and hugged her legs, staring out into the sea, deep in thoughts. The bushes behind her rustled slightly but that did not surprise the goddess of the hunt.

She sighed. 'I know you are in there, brother. Quit stalking.'

Apollo chuckled and stepped out of the bushes. 'What are you doing here so late in the night, sis?'

'Don't call me _sis_,' Artemis gritted her teeth.

'How about Arty?'

'No.'

'Baby sister?'

'No,' Artemis glared at her twin brother, 'For the sake of Zeus, Apollo! No!'

Apollo grinned and held his hands up in surrender. 'Okay Artemis, no need to get all worked up. Anyway, I wrote you a haiku. Do you want to hear it?'

Artemis flopped down to the ground and waved her arms in exasperation. 'Just leave me alone for some peace and quiet, Apollo. I came here so I could hear myself think properly after such a long day and you have to come and ruin it for me!'

Apollo did not reply. They stared out at the beach, watching wave after wave crash in rhythm until she heard him shuffling nearer. Artemis turned to see him sitting right next to her.

Apollo put his arm around her gently. 'I won't leave you alone, sister. I don't want you to be lonely ...' his voice was soft and he spoke from the bottom of his heart. Artemis could feel it when he said things like that. She felt a pang of guilt for pushing Apollo away when he was just trying to be here for her.

The constellations in the sky flickered momentarily.

'I am never alone,' Artemis whispered. 'I know you are always here. Every time I feel alone, I just look into my heart and you will be there. With you, I will never feel alone.'

Apollo's face brightened. 'Really?'

'Yes brother. I could never chase you away,' Artemis rolled her eyes. She forgot she could not feed Apollo too much facts on how much she loved him too or else his ego would get so huge, he would hog her for the rest of the week. Oh wait. He was already doing that, courtesy of their shared punishment.

Apollo laughed and planted a kiss on her forehead. 'I love you too, sis. Anyway, it's Saturday tomorrow.'

Artemis' eyes lit up. The day she had been waiting for the entire week is finally here. When the daylight broke out, she could be in the company of her sisters-in-arm once again, hunting down real monsters instead of those in camp. These days whenever she had felt nostalgic for hunting, she would go down to the camp's forest to hunt. However, the monsters did not pose much of a challenge and she quickly grew tired of it. She missed hunting with her huntresses.

As she pondered over what she could do in such a short time span of hunting with her huntresses, she noticed that Apollo was unusually silent.

Artemis tried to read his mind but he was thinking of a million things at once and it gave her a godly headache so she gave up and asked him instead. 'What is the matter, brother?'

His voice broke. 'Did you ever … Missed the times _we_ shared before this western civilisation begins?'

He looked into her eyes. Artemis noticed his tears threatening to fall and her heart ached for him somehow. She reached out and held his hands in hers.

'Because, I miss it all the time …' he continued. 'I miss everything we used to have. All those days we had spent hunting together. Just you and me.'

Artemis' voice quavered as she recalled the old times. Just her and her brother, chasing after monsters and shooting them down as a team. 'I … I do, brother. I really do.'

'Then why do you always run off with your huntresses? Am I not good enough company for you now? Why do you always push me away? I don't mean to annoy you every time we meet, Artemis. It's just … I love you, sister. I really do. I could write you an entire book of haikus just for you if you want. I could break the rules time and again, only for you. I –'

Artemis laid a finger on Apollo's lips. 'Hush, dear brother. It is alright.' She put her arms around him, holding Apollo tight. He hugged back, squeezing Artemis even tighter into his chest. 'I missed you so much …'

The goddess struggled and protested that her bones would break if he constricted her any further. Apollo loosened his grip but did not let go. He looked at Artemis, his eyes reading deep into her soul. _When can we have those times again?_ He spoke in her mind, almost pleading.

_After this punishment,_ Artemis promised. _Then it would be you and me again, hunting as one._

'We don't have to wait till then,' Apollo winked as he released his twin sister. 'Race you to the forest?'

'Those are chicken-feet.'

'Never mind, as long as we could hunt together again.'

'Bet I'll reach there first.'

With that, the letoides* disappeared in a flash, leaving just a cloud of sandy trail into the camp's forest.

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***Letoides is the name used for Apollo and Artemis as children of Leto. **

**A/N: Apollo is strong, so is Artemis. However, they are the only exception to each other. They can make each other weak and vulnerable. They are each other's weakness, they will risk their lives for each other. Artemis knows she will risk her life for him any time and so will he for her. This kind of love they shared is just too cute, I have to write it. :'3**


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry for the long wait guys! Had been busy with school and life, basically. It's my birthday today [12 Nov, #teamscorpio!] and to thank you all for your follows, favs, reviews and love, here's your new chapter! Hope you enjoy~**

* * *

It had been a few months since Zeus had implemented the punishment for the twins to join Dionysus at Camp Half-Blood. Artemis and Apollo had already gotten used to duties at camp, even though they missed their old jobs tremendously.

Apollo leaned against Thalia's tree and looked up at the morning sky. His Sun was shining bright high up. Oh, how he missed driving his golden chariot every day. Zeus had asked old Helios and Selene to take over the twins' duties while they were at Camp, but how he wished it was him up there instead, watching over everything under the Sun – literally. Together with his prophetic powers, no secrets could be kept from him.

He glanced over at Artemis, who was teaching the campers archery. She had invited Thalia over today to assist her with some new campers who arrived a few days ago.

It seemed like just another normal day but Apollo could feel a bad premonition. It had been there since a few days ago but it was unusually strong today. He sent Artemis a telepathy message to meet him over at Rachel's cave to discuss it. The premonition felt important enough. He saw Artemis sighed a little but inside, he knew that she was secretly happy to have a reason to leave. The male heroes annoyed her a lot.

'What is the matter, Apollo? You look worried.' Artemis asked upon arrival when she noticed the creased lines on her brother's forehead.

'I have a bad premonition. Do you feel it too?' Apollo answered.

As his twin sister, Artemis had some share of his prophetic powers, though it did not come as naturally to her. She had to stop and feel it on purpose.

Artemis closed her eyes and waited. After a few seconds, she nodded her head in agreement and said, 'Let us discuss this with your oracle.'

Apparently, Rachel felt something amiss too. Apollo and Artemis found her walking up and down in the cave, muttering to herself in stress. She beamed a little when she saw the twins.

'Thank the gods you're both here!' Rachel said. 'Something important is going to happen again, I can feel it.'

'It's why we're here too,' Apollo replied.

Rachel fiddled with her fingers. 'Nothing has happened yet, I don't wish to alarm anyone.'

'Yup, it's best kept that way. I don't want Zeus to come blaming me again if I let you reveal a new prophecy too soon and then people start trying to solve it. Don't tell anyone anything.'

'Yes, my lord.'

Apollo heard Artemis' voice in his head. _Brother, we should go back to Olympus and check what might be wrong._

He thought for a while. _I'm not sure if father would appreciate that, sis. We're in the middle of a punishment, we can't return to Olympus as we liked._

_Then wait we shall, _Artemis spoke in his mind, but Apollo could see that a crease was starting to form on his sister's forehead as well. He wished he could tell her what was going on. Not knowing always drive him crazy with worry. When will he ever be reconciled with his Sun-chariot again?

* * *

That night, the skies were darker than usual. Clouds crowded overhead and no light from the Moon or stars could pass through. Lightning flashed urgently, signalling for an Olympians' emergency meeting.

Apollo, Artemis and Dionysus sped to Olympus in the fastest way possible but they were still among the last to arrive. The rest of the council had already taken their seats, and were in the midst of a heated argument.

'What's up, guys?' Apollo asked cheerfully as the three of them took their seats at their respective thrones after acknowledging Zeus.

'It's Prometheus again!' Athena explained impatiently. 'He's planning to grace mankind with another gift. We tried to stop him, captured him even. However he's nowhere to be found now.'

Ares shook his fist. 'So instead of searching for him and beating him senseless, we have to be here for this useless meeting.'

'I just said _he's nowhere to be found_, it's only sensible we come together and come up with some strategy!' Athena growled.

'Does anyone has any idea where he might be?' Poseidon asked, his arms folded.

Every god and goddess turned to look at Apollo out of habit. He was the god of prophecy after all, he knew about everything under the Sun.

'Don't look at me, I don't drive my Sun chariot across the sky every day now,' Apollo said defensively.

Athena turned to Hermes. 'Did Prometheus engage in your services recently?'

'Not that I can remember.'

'Think hard! This is very important to all of us!'

Zeus clapped a thunder, capturing everyone's attention. The throne room silenced and waited for his speech.

'First things first,' Zeus said. 'Prometheus should not be gracing mankind any sort of gift. Look what happened the first time he gave them fire. A whole new era was born! That's enough drama for three thousand years already. Therefore, he should be stopped. Are we all on the same page or does anyone felt that what he did was right?'

'Of course he should be stopped,' Demeter scoffed. The rest of the Olympians nodded their heads approvingly.

'Good. Then we're all in this one together. We have to stop him. Now, anyone has any clue what he was planning to gift the mortals?'

'The teleportation stone, I think.' Hermes said. Everyone turned to look at him. 'I overheard him talking about it yesterday while on a trip but I didn't think much about it.'

Once again, the throne room burst out in overlapping voices.

'Wait, you saw him yesterday already?'

'Where did you see him?'

'So do you think he was already planning this a long time ago or a sudden decision?'

'Didn't Apollo felt this coming? Why didn't he come warn us? Apollo must be siding with Prometheus as well!'

'That's not fair, I was grounded at Camp Half-Blood!'

'Hold up!' Artemis's firm voice sounded clear as glass across the throne room. All the Olympians turned to give her their attention. Apollo grinned and gave Artemis a wink. He was proud of her for knowing how to lead.

'As father had said, we are all in this together so let us stop pushing the blame onto each other alright? Now, does anybody knows Prometheus' motive in gifting Teleportation to the mortals?' Artemis questioned.

Athena pursed her lips. 'If I guessed correctly, Prometheus has a lot of reasons to do so. Firstly, his unconditional love for mankind. Secondly, his growing hatred for Zeus ever since he made eagles eat his liver every day until Heracles came to save him. He could be killing two birds with one stone – by gracing the mortals with the stone, no pun intended. '

'It is dangerous to let them have the stone,' Hera said. 'Havoc will arise in the mortal world, especially if it falls in the hands of corrupted humans. The fire is more than enough that we could risk upon them. The mortals cannot be trusted. What if they overthrows us next?'

Ares balled up his fists. 'They will not overthrow us, mother. I will make sure of that.'

'We have to take action,' Hephaestus grunted. 'All in favour?'

Every god and goddess in the throne room raised their hands.

Artemis clapped. 'Then it is agreed. After the previous war about Gaia, do we all stand on the same page that we should work together with the heroes as well?'

Apollo snickered. All those time spent at Camp Half-Blood must have done something serious to his twin sister. Ever since the episode with Octavian, he could not bring himself to trust any of them anymore. Much to his surprise, a few of the gods like Ares, Athena and Poseidon cheered on the idea. There was zero protestation about the issue, not even from Zeus.

'I would want one of each child of the big three to join us in the war,' Zeus announced.

Apollo's jaw dropped, but he could see that Zeus had made up his mind. Moreover, no matter how much he did not trust the heroes anymore, he must admit that the opinion was biased. His prophetic radar did not alarm at all. In fact, there was indeed a prophecy for the heroes' quest yet to be revealed. As the god of truth, he could not lie about that so Apollo kept mum.

'We will need another group of heroes as well,' Artemis said. 'Dionysus, Apollo and I will see to that when we get back at Camp Half-Blood.'

Poseidon leaned back on his throne. 'Perfect. Been so long since all twelve of us can agree on the same thing. Let's hope there are no traitors among us this time. Meanwhile, let's discuss strategies, eh Athena?'

'Right,' Athena said as she rolled her eyes at her sworn enemy whom she now had to work together with.

In his throne, Apollo smirked. This was going to be interesting and new. The Olympians actually working together, also hand in hand with the heroes.

_Yes, it's the start of something new. A good one too. _Artemis admitted. Oh yes he almost forgot that Artemis' mind is somehow linked to his since birth. No doubt she knew that he was unhappy with the plan, but there was no way that Apollo will go against the flow, especially when his sister is involved. He knew he would be siding with her till the end.

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**Anyone interested in what the demigods' quest would be like? Who would you like to see participating in the demigods' quest? [Vote for your favourite demigods in the reviews~] If enough people wants to read their story, I'll start writing it in another new story (: xx [****This story is mainly written for Artemis and Apollo]**

**Your voting do counts in the progression of the story bc I still have to come up with the prophecy for the next chapter and stuff haha. Not trying gain reviews or what, I'm genuinely needing you guys to help me in this one to make a story all of us would enjoy. ;) **


	6. Chapter 6

**Sooo sorry for the long wait! Been through some tough times in my life recently but I'm back now! Please do continue sending reviews of who you think should go for the demigods quest and if you would like to see another fanfic story just for them, as this one is for my otp, Artemis and Apollo. :p**

**It's a short chapter, but I'll update soon enough, don't worry. Anyways, have a happy new year to all of you!**

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Artemis bit the bottom of her lip as she gazed out of the car window in her brother's Maserati spyder. She scanned the Earth far below, searching for clues of Prometheus' plans, and who could be involved with him. The Sun chariot running across the sky gracefully, bringing light upon life on Earth. The dolphins in the sea, deer in the forests and mortals in the city, bustling around with their usual activities.

She sighed as she recalled the events that happened earlier on that led her to be in this position, doing guard duty with Apollo…

_A few of you will go and do some surveillance on Earth_, Zeus had said. _Check what might have been amiss, try to look for Prometheus one last time_ etcera etcera…

Artemis knew she would be part of this little quest. Zeus always chose the same few gods to do it. 'His best', Ares had called it, always involving her, Apollo, Ares and Athena.

_Artemis, you will go with Apollo as he drives the Sun chariot just for today before you both return to Camp Half-Blood. Apollo will join you for yours tonight. Do a quick scan from above. Leave the hunting on Earth for Ares and Athena. Look out for one another, no funny business like running off with your hunters, _Zeus commanded.

Her eyes widened and she started to protest but Zeus had held up his hand and said that he did not want them to miss a single detail and was convinced that sending two of them together would cover all ground. Artemis could only grit her teeth and obey.

It is indeed nice to be back in the skies, but Artemis had always felt more comfortable doing the hunting on ground. Apollo, sensing her displeasure with the plans, had offered to cover up for her and let her go hunt but Artemis did not want her brother as the god of truths to lie.

_It is fine. I will be okay. Let's go,_ she had told him. So here they were.

'Well, sis. I rarely have you here in my chariot with me, so just take it as a privilege tour eh?' Apollo said, interrupting her train of thoughts.

Artemis stared at him. 'I sit here often, brother. You asked me almost every day if you could send me to wherever I wanted to go.'

'Hey, you rejected my offer most of the time!'

She sighed and looked out of the window again, too tired to bicker.

They were driving past Greece now, she could see the pillars of Heracles far below. Artemis spat when she saw him sitting in the sand. Just the mere sight of him makes her angry. Heracles always got on her nerves.

Apollo laughed. 'And I thought you had forgiven him, Arty.'

'Stop calling me that! And also, I had only forgiven him once. He disgusts me tremendously.'

It was true. Artemis had forgiven him once for stealing her precious Ceryneian hind, but that was only because he was on a quest for Hera, and she most certainly did not want to assist Hera in making anyone's life more difficult. She does not want to help her in anything at all and at that time, forgiving Heracles would mean opposing Hera as she had obviously hoped that Artemis would punish him. Therefore, there was no way that Artemis will do as Hera wished.

'Arty, Heracles isn't moving,' Apollo pointed out.

Artemis looked at Heracles again and realised that Apollo was right. She squinted her eyes. 'Let's pay a visit to our long lost brother, shall we?'


	7. Chapter 7

**Aha, sorry for the extraordinarily long wait, here's your new chapter! Enjoy~**

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The Sun chariot landed gracefully on the sands of the beach of Heracles, however torching a few crabs as it did and their shells turned bright red instantly.

'Apollo!' Artemis complained.

'What?' Apollo was baffled by the disappointed look on his sister's face. 'It was a smooth landing, wasn't it?'

Artemis shook her head irritably and stepped out of the chariot. Apollo followed suit. After walking a few steps, she pointed at Heracles and Apollo turned to look at him.

Heracles— No, what was supposed to be Heracles, was now a life-size figurine, carved intricately from wood. That was not Heracles. It was just an illusion to trick them into thinking he was still here.

The twins looked at each other, the same questions running through their minds. Where was the real Heracles? Who left this wooden statue here? Was Heracles on Prometheus' side too? Was this a trap?

A trap.

Now, as an Olympian, Apollo had reflexes faster than any mortal or demigod when he was alert, faster than his dear sister, who was still staring confusedly at the wooden statue.

'Duck!' He yelled, the moment he noticed the faint movement of the leaves in the bushes that did not even make a sound, the moment he realised that an arrow was pointing straight at his poor, unaware baby sister.

Everything happened in less than a second. Quick as lightning, Apollo notched an arrow in his golden bow and fired it towards the other arrow flying straight at Artemis, as she ducked down flat onto the sands, just millimetres away from the site where both arrows intercepted, with Apollo's arrow knocking the other arrow off-course, meanwhile proceeding to fly towards the attacker behind the bushes, and the golden arrow found its spot just where Apollo wanted it to be – the thigh.

Ignoring the agonised screams of the attacker, Apollo sped towards his twin sister and helped her up, fussing over her in the meanwhile.

'Sis! Are you alright? Do you need nectar and ambrosia?' Apollo looked up and down his sister, checking for any harm. When he realised that she did not even have a single scratch on her, he proceeded to ask if the incident had traumatised her in any ways.

'I am fine, Apollo!' Artemis insisted. 'I am not that weak, alright? We have more important things to attend to now.'

She turned towards her attacker and stormed towards it. 'Who dare– '

'I'm sorry!' came the voice, clearly male. He emerged from behind the bushes noisily, bleeding profusely from where Apollo's arrow was still embedded deeply in his right thigh. The arrow was poisoned and Apollo could see that his thigh was turning green. The boy looked about fifteen year old, and he was wearing a tattered orange Camp-Half Blood t-shirt. Even with the wound, he managed to kneel in front of the twin archers with a lot of difficulty.

'I'm sorry,' he repeated, his eyes looking straight at Apollo. 'Someone told me to stay here and shoot at whoever arrives near the statue, I didn't realise that it would be you. If I had known, I wouldn't have shot. P–please help me… Father.'

Artemis turned to look at Apollo and cocked her head to the side. _Another one of your flings?_

Apollo studied the demigod with narrowed eyes. It was his child alright. From a beautiful mortal woman he met just outside the Empire State Building. She had auburn hair that was pulled back into a ponytail that reminded him of Artemis and after an… incident, he might say, she bore him a child, Mitchie Halls, who was sent to Camp Half-Blood at the age of eleven.

To be honest, Apollo had totally forgotten about this child and he had stayed in cabin eleven until Percy Jackson asked the gods to be more aware of their children and so he claimed Mitchie, and forgot about him again, until today.

Aside from all that, Apollo could also sense that Mitchie was not telling the truth. He balled up his fists. 'As my son, you dare lie? And to _me_.'

Mitchie cowered behind his bloodied hands but Apollo was not done yet.

'You also tried to shoot my baby sister, and you…' It struck Apollo that he did not see Mitchie around in camp at all. 'You escaped from camp!'

Mitchie shivered aggressively. 'My lord…'

'You did not just tried to shoot Artemis by accident,' Apollo announced, picking the truth out of his son's mind one by one. 'You _knew_ we were coming. Somebody told you that. You sneaked out of camp while they were fighting with Gaia. You knew Will Solace will not notice you were gone because he was too busy dating Nico. You listened to the voice in your dreams but you were tricked and tortured. They sent you to meet up with a messenger from Prometheus, who sent you here to wait for Artemis and me, to shoot us on sight or they will kill you.'

A gasp escaped from Artemis' lips. 'Prometheus is the titan of forethought. He would not be so careless to leave a mere demigod here to intercept us, Apollo!'

As if on cue, a deep throaty laugh filled the air and its owner stepped out from the forests.

'Very clever, Artemis,' Heracles said. He was wearing full battle armour with a sword ready in hand. His evil laugh turned into a sneer as several huge and ugly hornless-bull men emerged from behind him. 'But your wits came too late. It's finally time for me to have some fun. We'll kill you before you get to tell papa anything.'

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**Reviews? ;)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Okay hello again dear readers. So sorry for the long wait again. I haven't given up on the story, don't worry.**

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'If you think you're still dealing with the Letoides from thousands of years ago, you're wrong. Artemis smiled wryly as she summoned her hunting knifes. 'We have upgraded.'

She willed them to be charged up with the combined power of Moonlight and Sunlight, her knifes glowing a beautiful silver and gold. _Thank you for the knife, brother,_ she thought to Apollo telepathically as she plunged them into the sands at an incredible speed only an Olympian could have managed. _Our forces combined are the most beautiful thing in the world._

From where her blades hit the ground, beams of gold and silvery light shot out and paralysed her enemies where the light touched. Some of the bull men fell and splayed across the ground, unable to move an inch.

Heracles tried to sidestep the beams but he was still slower than the speed of light. Before he understood what was happening, silvery light flashed across his right arm and it crippled instantly. He lost control of the arm and dropped his sword.

'We're not done yet,' Apollo added. Making use of Heracles' stupor, he took careful aim and shot an arrow into Heracles' chest. It had to hit inches just above Heracles' heart for the magic to work and only the god of archery and prophecy combined can achieve such accuracy on a target that was stumbling profusely and Apollo happened to be both.

It was no ordinary arrow. Apollo had personally asked Hephaestus to forge these, integrating medicine, Sunlight and Moonlight into an arrow that only gods can handle. The moment the arrow tip touched Heracles, it dissipated into his chest in a shower of silver and gold glitter. _Yeah sis! We're gonna win this time, _Apollo winked at his sister.

Heracles stared at Apollo in shock as he crumbled to the ground, holding his chest. The bull men who could still stand trembled in fear, their knees shaking. Artemis saw them looking at each other questioningly, wondering if they should run or stay and fight. A few of them made several steps back, ready to run.

'What… is… this…' Heracles wheezed, the magic of Apollo's arrow settling in his body.

'Allow me to explain,' Apollo flashed an award-winning dazzling smile at his sister who rolled her eyes but smiled in triumph. 'I call this, the sunny control poison arrow. The light that is now circulating in your ichor, Heracles, is tainted with a kind of control serum I had carefully mixed, back in my medicine cabinet in Olympus.'

_Sunny? I contributed in that project too, Apollo,_ Artemis insisted.

_Yeah, whatever sis. Sunny sounds better than Moony right?_

_What?!_

_Oh, just let me finish my explanation to this jerk, _Apollo thought back cheekily.

'What it does, is if you don't do as we say, you will feel an excruciating pain in your chest and head. Also, you must stay within a five to fifteen meters distance from me or else your body will be paralysed.'

Heracles growled in grimace. 'I'll… kill… you!'

'Oh, and you can't do any funny business to me either because you're kind of in an invisible barrier.' Apollo said. 'Whatever harm you tried to bring me will bounce back to yourself. And the best thing still, you can't die while the light is running in your bloodstream so it's going to be real painful if you tried to kill me.'

Artemis had forgotten that Mitchie was still around until she noticed him hiding behind the bushes again, gaping in awe at his father despite his green leg. 'How–'

She sighed, knowing he was going to die in a few more minutes if a god's healing power was not involved. She asked Apollo telepathically if he wanted Mitchie alive. He pondered over that issue for several seconds while Heracles continued hurling insults at him.

_I supposed I could kill him again anytime if I decided to not let him live after all but for now, let's keep him with us. He might be useful. _He thought back finally.

Artemis nodded. She touched Mitchie's wound gently. 'Don't look,' she whispered as Mitchie averted his eyes. 'This is a really strong power.' She had to concentrate very hard because if too much force was used, Mitchie could disintegrate into dust on the spot.

However, she could also notice that Apollo had still been deep in thoughts regarding Mitchie and he had let his guard down. He was gazing at his son intently. She saw Heracles picked up his sword with the other arm and flung it towards the Sun chariot with all his might.

'Apollo!' Artemis yelled as she dropped the healing process and sped towards the sun chariot. Mitchie fell limply to the ground. He whimpered in pain as he felt the extra magic coursing through his veins.

If the Sun had been hit, all dreams in the world would be shattered. All light would diminish and the Earth will plunge into darkness. Moreover, her brother will lose his job. Artemis was not going to allow that. At the last second, she managed to shield the Sun Chariot with her own body and the sword penetrated her, the end of the sword missing the chariot by millimetres.

Pain shot up from where the sword hit – her stomach. The pain overwhelmed her mind and Artemis began to lose consciousness. Horrible memories engulfed her. The time she held up the sky for Atlas, all alone, waiting for help to come, the pain in her shoulders, helplessness in her heart that she never told anyone. The time she got expelled from Olympus with Apollo, the defeat she felt when she saw hope die out in her brother's eyes, yet not being able to do anything about it. The time she fought the Alodai twins by herself in the first giant war, for fear that Otis would claim her virginity, and her homeland...

She felt her brother's arms slipped around her waist protectively as he whispered darkly to Heracles, 'How dare you hurt my sister.'

There was a flash of light and Artemis' eyes finally flickered out.

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**Oh my gods, I don't really know how to write this chapter properly, I've rewritten it so many times already and this is my best shot. It's kinda like rubbish, I suck at fighting scenes and my vocab is so shittily limited. I wish I had uncle Rick as my writing teacher sometimes. Don't know what else I lacked but for now, this is it. Don't leave the story yet omg I promise a better chapter in the next one. Thanks for reading. All reviews greatly **


	9. Chapter 9

**Yay~ Finally a long chapter for you guys! I'm quite proud of his one, hope you guys like it too! ^^**

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Carrying his unconscious twin sister in his arms, Apollo kicked the doors of Olympus open with so much force, it made a loud THUD and all the present gods in the throne room turned to look in shock.

'What the –' Aphrodite started to say but Apollo ignored her and rushed Artemis into his room, where he kept all his healing supplies.

He set his wounded sister down gently onto his bed and gathered all his supplies in the room, meanwhile ordering a few nymphs nearby to grab ambrosia and nectar from the kitchen. When they were too slow, he snapped at them irritably to hurry up. A few of the gods flooded into his room, curious as to what has happened but Apollo growled at them to keep away.

'Stay with me, sis,' Apollo begged shakily as he dripped nectar onto Artemis' wounds. 'Stay with me, I need you!'

'What happened to Artemis, brother?' Hermes asked, his eyes full of concern.

Aphrodite sighed dramatically, 'Oh please, Apollo, there's no need to be anxious. Gods can't die, we're immortal, and unfortunately for me, Artemis is immortal too.'

Apollo looked like he was ready to tackle the soul out of the goddess of love but he held himself back and focused on what was more important at the moment – saving his precious baby sister.

Finally, after what felt like an infinity, he managed to stabilise Artemis' vitals. She looked much better now, thanks to the food of the gods, and of course, healing skills from the god of medicine.

'She got struck by a sword while trying to save my chariot from getting hit,' Apollo finally explained to the large group of curious onlookers. 'It's my fault, I should've paid attention to Heracles, I –'

He was interrupted by a burst of commotion and above them all, Zeus boomed, '_Heracles_ is involved with Prometheus? Where is he now?'

'I killed him,' Apollo said simply, his face dark. 'I disintegrated everyone else present. Nobody hurts my sister and gets away with it.'

Zeus fumed and summoned his lightning bolt. 'You fool! You should have captured him alive for interrogation! Now you've freed him because he's just going to come back, he's immortal now, you know!'

'Peace, brother,' Poseidon stopped him. 'Apollo is in distress right now. We all know how important Artemis is to him. We can always figure something out again later.'

Zeus started to say something but he withheld himself and stormed out of Apollo's room, shaking his head furiously and muttering curses under his breath something about Heracles eating Hades' pants.

Poseidon put a meaningful hand on Apollo's shoulder and followed Zeus out. A few of the gods and goddesses did the same and they filed out one by one. Hermes whispered to Apollo that he would be here if he was needed and gave him an encouraging smile before going out together with the rest. He closed the door softy behind him. Soon, it was just Apollo and his twin sister in the room.

He gazed down at Artemis' now peaceful face. Sure, like Aphrodite said, Artemis could not die. She is a goddess after all but Apollo loved Artemis too much to bear the wait between when she will come back to him again. The last thing he needed was Artemis to be shielded from him again. Her presence was very important, especially if there was an oncoming war. Everyone knew that when the twin archers combined forces, the probability of winning would increase tremendously.

Looking at Artemis now, Apollo judged that it would take at least two days for Artemis to fully recover, even with his medicine. He hoped the war would not happen anytime soon. He was sure Artemis, brave as she is, would jump into the battle, even if she had not yet fully recovered.

He recalled the moment he saw Heracles' sword pierced through Artemis right before his eyes. How could he had not foreseen that? In a flash, he had been next to her, holding her steady and safe from further harm. It was a mistake for anyone to hurt Artemis at all. A grave mistake. Heracles would have to pay for it. He remembered yelling in grieve when he witnessed Artemis fell limply into his arms. His strong, little sister, becoming a weak form, like a ragdoll against his chest. He was not going to let Heracles off so easily.

With a wave of his hands, he had willed all the arrows in his quiver to fly out towards Heracles, holding him to the spot. Ignoring his distressed calls, Apollo had turned into his true form, disintegrating every monster and demigod stupid enough to stare. He did not even bother about Mitchie anymore. It was thanks to him as well that Artemis had been hurt, to an extent. After which, Apollo had approached Heracles, removing his curse in order to send him to Hades before rushing Artemis home. Now he regretted it. It would had been a better idea to leave Heracles struggling in the sands.

Apollo held his head in distress. This was all his fault. He should have been looking out for Artemis and not let his guard down. If he had not been in that stupid trance, he could have easily deflected the blade from Artemis and it would not have hit her, she would not have ended up like this and even though it was certain that Apollo had gotten revenge _and_ saved her in time, he still blamed himself.

He blamed himself for everything that had happened to his baby sister. He had not been there for her like he had always promised. Like that time she was kidnapped by Luke and the titan Atlas, Apollo still shudders when he remembered that. He should have insisted on going with her or at least make her bring one of her huntresses with her, or he should even just look out for her from afar, not being some scarebaby when she entered San Francisco. He could have prevented that one too. He would even hold the sky for his baby sister, but alas, stupid him had to hold back and think about the consequences and by the time he could react, it was already too late and she was completely shielded from him.

He had tried to make up for that by illegally helping Percy and the other heroes rescue her but how he wished it could be him instead. He wanted to be there for Artemis, through all the good and bad times. He got so terrified on the thought of losing her forever and it was all he wanted to do, to hold her in his arms again. She was a chaste goddess of the wild but she was still his, somehow. She will always be his.

Despite the heaviness of the situation, Apollo felt another haiku coming on. There was always time for haikus. He was the god of poetry!

'_Delving deep in pain,_

_Artemis shot by a jerk._

_I will protect her._'

Apollo started to grin to himself, oblivious to how bad the haiku really was but the smile quickly died in his facial muscles as he saw the weak form of his sister on the bed again. When she woke up later, Apollo vowed to grace upon her the awesomeness of his latest haiku.

He heard some arguing in the corridor outside his room and after a long while, Hermes knocked on his door, informing Apollo that Zeus required them to attend council once Artemis woke up.

Grunting in reply, Apollo held Artemis' hands in his. Artemis was still recovering, how could she attend council while she was still weak? What if she collapses halfway through? What if—

His thoughts were cut off halfway when he felt Artemis squeezing his hand. Apollo lurched forward to see her face as her eyes fluttered open. She let out an almost inaudible whimper only her brother could hear. 'Apollo...'

'I'm here! I'm here, Artemis! Can you see me? Can you hear me?' Apollo grasped wildly at his sister, worried that his medicine might have some side effects he had forgotten about, that could cause blindness or deafness, maybe.

Artemis glanced at him and chuckled, holding her side to lighten the pain, hoping her overprotective twin brother would miss that. 'Yes, brother. My body is working just fine now. Thank you.'

Apollo frowned. How could she laugh like this when the blow had clearly caused her so much pain? Then it struck him that she was trying to lighten up his mood. _Oh dear baby sister, how could I not worry when you're moments from dying?_

_Neither of us can die, Apollo. And I am older than you._ Artemis sighed and tried to sit up but she found herself failing miserably when Apollo, being much stronger than his injured sister, pushed her back down again.

'Rest! You're still weak!'

'But I heard Hermes telling you that Zeus said—'

'I don't care what Zeus said! You're hurt! And if there's one thing I would go down fighting for, no matter the consequences, it would be for your safety and happiness, okay? I don't care if you say I'm overprotective or whatever. You're weak now, because of me, I'm the only one who is going to take full care of you until you're fully healed, I will be by your side 24/7 until you're all better, I'm never gonna let you out of my sight, you hear me? I Mark my words, Artemis. I really do love you more than you can imagine.'

'Um, mark your words?' He could see Artemis had wanted to fight back but somehow the words he said, made her laugh, and in a non-sarcastic way. He looked at her questioningly before relaxing himself. Oh, whatever. As long as she was genuinely smiling and not protesting against his orders. What a rare moment. Looking at Artemis, Apollo smiled and a sudden strong wave of feels flooded him.

Apollo froze. There, it had happened again. Like the Sun and Moon is colliding. All the beauty and emotions in this world burned in his heart. There was no room for chaos. Everything should be falling in perfect synchronisation. Time could have stopped and he would not have known. The last time he felt this way was ages ago, so long that he had forgotten it. Deep inside, he knew this was the mysterious explanation for everything he and Artemis had done for each other, especially why they protect each other so much. It could even be the explanation for how the entire galaxy was formed. They do not even need Eros' help. They were already close. Too close.

Apollo felt it coming from the rush in his ichor, from the moment he had confessed his love, but this time, the impulse was stronger than before. His gaze lingered on Artemis, suddenly he turned serious. She would not have suspected anything about his true feelings towards her, she had never been exposed to romantic love before. She had always assumed that their love was platonic. She was his innocent other half that he had sworn to protect with his life.

How could he have forgotten the adorable way her eyes scrunch up smaller whenever she laughs? An invisible source of moonlight always illuminating the perfect features on her face, the way her auburn hair fell messily behind her whenever she let it down but she still managed to pull it off and looked so beautiful anyway. There were a few faint scars on her skin, evidence of her hunting games with the beasts on Earth, and her lips… Her lips…

Apollo leaned in closer to her face and gently cupped her cheeks in his hand. Without thinking, he closed his mouth around Artemis' lips, and he started to kiss her passionately.

_The Sun and Moon had collided._

Two seconds later, he thought, _Oh shit, _but Artemis surprised him by returning the kiss.

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**Okay Idk why I decided to just cut the crap of no-twincest here when they're my OTP forever so I'm just gonna put it in. This will mean more drama in the upcoming chapters too, there'll be more to write about, longer chapters for everyone! **

**Reviews make me feel happy and appreciated, typing in a few words for what you think wouldn't hurt right? :p**

**Thank you everyone who had reviewed! Once Artemis and Apollo gets back to Camp Half Blood to send some heroes to quest, I will upload a new story, as promised, for the heroes' pov of their own quest! ;) **


	10. Chapter 10

**Sorry for the long wait! Don't worry, I'm not giving up on this story until I'm dead haha.**

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It was a total eclipse of their hearts.

Artemis' special little session with Apollo had felt so pleasurable right then, but the moment he broke off, she remembered what she was -a chaste goddess- and regretted almost immediately what she had done.

Apollo, too, wore a face of guilt. Looking at his irresistibly adorable puppy eyes, a part of her wanted to tell him that it is alright, to let him pull her back into his arms so she could lay there against his chest and listen to his heartbeat forever. She wanted to dance with him deep in the meadows at sunset, as she had always secretly wanted to, when they meet every day to change sky patrolling shifts. Even though she was cold as the Moon, Apollo was her Sun; the reason she shines so brightly every night, when sunlight enveloped her in a_ warm_ embrace.

_Cold and hot makes warmth._

Another part of her, the part she wished she could push away, was mad. Mad at Apollo for kissing her despite knowing she was a chaste goddess. Mad at the world for looking upon the eclipse and realising the Moon goddess had been tainted. Mad at herself for holding this very anger back, because…

Because she loved him too, and she had been silently waiting thousands of years for this exact moment, through those mini heartbreaks of when she saw him chasing other girls, knowing she could never be the one for him. She had already turned him away the moment she declared herself a chaste goddess. Maybe it was a mistake.

Before Artemis could open her mouth to say anything, Apollo stood up hastily, his face red-hot, muttered that he was going to the kitchen to grab some more healing supplies.

No doubt Apollo already heard all that had just went through her mind, unless he was also thinking a million things at once. Artemis blushed heavily. Apollo snapped his fingers before Artemis could comment that he could send Hermes to do the errand instead, and then she felt herself falling asleep before she had a chance to ask him to stay.

And then Artemis drifted off into dreamland.

Gods and goddesses dream too. Usually they could control it unless Morpheus or a stronger force tugs at their will, like a certain titan of time had done to Ares the previous time.

Initially, Artemis wanted to revisit the past she had treasured so much. The eclipse of a kiss with Apollo had made her nostalgic for the memories they used to share back in Delos, before the twins had become part of the Olympian council. The innocent times they rolled around together on the sandy beach on their beautiful island, while their mother watches from afar, laughing gently at their antics.

This time though, Morpheus had other ideas. He tugged urgently at her dreams. Curiosity got the better of Artemis, and she followed.

The scene settled in Aphrodite's room, where a very frustrated love goddess could be seen, arguing with a winged angel-like god, Eros.

_Why did you bring me here?_ Artemis asked Morpheus.

_Shush, goddess of the hunt. _He whispered in reply. _Watch._

They focused on Aphrodite and Eros' conversation.

'Nooooo!' Aphrodite whined. Her blonde hair falling down her back in perfect waves. 'Apollo kissed her! You saw that _total eclipse_ in the sky don't you?'

'Yes, t'was a spectacular sight. I've never seen anything more beautiful—'

Aphrodite hissed. Even her sinister look was flawless. 'It was not supposed to be beautiful! Apollo should not have settled for his pathetic excuse for a twin sister! I'm so much better!'

Eros stared at Aphrodite for a while, unsure of what to say. Here he was, facing the goddess of love, jealous and disapproving of somebody else's love. She rarely disapproves of love.

Moreover, as ambassadors of love themselves, they both knew very well that Apollo could never be Aphrodite's. They each already had their own soulmates, though that still did not stop Aphrodite from lusting after others, especially Apollo, whom she claimed to be the _cutest guy in Olympus_. Eros felt compelled to remind her of how natural love is supposed to work.

'I didn't strike them, milady,' Eros said. 'They're already meant to be so I don't even have to. You knew that. My arrows bring love but the natural force could happen on its own.'

Artemis understood what Eros had meant about her and Apollo being already meant to be. Eros had explained it to her the previous time she had consulted him regarding the feelings she felt growing for Apollo.

She was the whole reason Apollo never could marry. From the instance Artemis chose to remain untouched, her soulmate and other-half, Apollo, was also forced by the Fates to never get married because he could only belong to her, who chose not to be owned by any men.

'You should have struck Apollo with me! I want all the most beautiful guys to be in love with me as they should! It is already bad enough that Zeus gave me the worst possible guy in Olympus! Don't the goddess of love deserve any good things at all?' Aphrodite spat.

Upon saying that, Aphrodite's eyes lit up as an idea struck in her mind.

'But wait! There is still time for salvation though!' Aphrodite said, a cheeky grin creeping up the corners of her lips. 'You in for some fun and games?'

In the background, Artemis gasped and held her hands over her mouth before the sound could get out and expose her presence. She had a bad premonition about this. Aphrodite's ideas were never good. Eros' skills were not to be played with but Aphrodite knew exactly how to manipulate him for her own convenience.

Eros raised an eyebrow and winked discreetly at her. 'Your wishes are my commands, milady. Anything for a great dramatic scene caused by love.'

The scene shifted, and Artemis saw Apollo walking down the hallway, deep in thoughts and unaware of his surroundings.

Knowing her own twin like the back of her palm, Artemis was sure that he was plagued by his own rashness to kiss her, a forbidden one, wondering what would she do about it, what would the council say, if any form of punishment would befall them at all. Little did he notice the plight about to befall them, those not due to punishments.

When he reached the kitchen, Aphrodite was there already. She sipped a cup of nectar and leaned casually near the cabinets, gazing at Apollo seductively like the expert seducer she was. It was a look any decent stray boys would have fallen for. Maybe Apollo would not fall for that, since he was deep in thoughts about Artemis. Maybe.

'Not now, Aphrodite,' Apollo said dismissively as he fumbled for healing medicine. 'You know what happened, don't you?'

_Yes! Wait. Not now? Does that mean that next time would be possible?_

Artemis' twin brother was a philanderer, thus explaining the amount of kids he had back at Camp Half-Blood. Usually, this fact had been more or less dismissible, but why, right now, what she felt was… intense heartache?

_Get a grip on yourself, Artemis._ She shook her head and reprimanded herself. _Set an example for your huntresses and be the strong chaste woman you are. _

Aphrodite blinked and sighed attractively. It would have been a beautiful sight to behold if not for the fact that Apollo's attention was still not directed towards her. He gathered up the supplies and made his way out of the kitchen.

Artemis caught herself grinning at the lack of attention Aphrodite is receiving from her brother and she carefully composed herself from her hiding place.

The goddess of beauty, however, was offended that she had been ignored. She stepped in front of Apollo, who paused mid-step and frowned at her.

'What do you want?'

Artemis cried out but it was too late. Apollo did not even register it. He was overwhelmed with emotions and did not notice what his sister had seen.

Perched at the top of an olive tree right outside the window, was Eros. And he had a love arrow pointed straight at them.

_Whoooooosh!_

The sun god was flung into the arms of Aphrodite. Artemis saw the light in his eyes change. His face now held a look of adoration towards Aphrodite. The look that Artemis had wanted to claim for her own.

In her fury, she did not realise Morpheus had panned the scene towards Eros. He was now pointing a second arrow in another direction.

_Artemis._ Morpheus warned.

She looked.

Unfolding right before her eyes, was a love arrow flying straight into Hermes, who was checking on Artemis, hovering right over her sleeping form.

_Look out! _She screamed, but it was too late.

She opened her eyes to Hermes, looking down at her with the same adoration in his eyes as she had seen Apollo just gave Aphrodite.

The worst part was, she was starting to discover that Hermes' eyes of blue had never been as beautiful as they had been while she was staring into them right now.

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**Dearest readers! Thank you so so much for your reviews. I see all of them and many of you really made my day. My writing means a lot to me, you know. Thank you. :') **

**Gonna reply some of you here.**

**DiamondRin: OMG Apollo and Artemis is my OTP too! (Obviously now hahahaha) Thank you so much for your support, I will upload new chapters soon! I am currently on internship so now I have to squeeze time for writing hehe.**

**Mizz-Incezt: Shit I am so honoured to have you review my story. YOU WRITE SO BEAUTIFULLY IN YOUR STORY 'MOST FORBIDDEN LOVE'. I swear every time you updated the story, I am among the first few readers okay! And then I'll be filled with so much feels! T.T Love that one so much. Even though it's on hiatus now (sob-sob), I hope you update soon! And thanks for your review! **

**SheradeAem: Hi! You really made me smile omg. Thank you for your sweet words! It is really encouraging because I have big dreams about writing in future. :) Answering your question, sorry because I don't understand how the rate thing works so I rated it M in case haha. **


	11. Chapter 11

**Well! If you guys haven't heard of it yet, Uncle Rick is working on a new series, _The Trials of Apollo_, about Apollo getting turned into a human as his punishment! (That's so fanfic-like omg hahahaha) (And also, initially one of my ideas to write this ff was that he got turned into a human with Artemis but I figured he got turned into human once before already back in the old days and that it'd be more fun if he got sent to Camp Half-Blood and all instead) I am so so excited for it gahhh! Can't wait to read it as soon as it's out! Artemis and Apollo are my favourite ever! It's making me so so happy that my favourite author is finally dedicating an entire series for Apollo! Life is good. Hopefully there will be lots of Apollo x Artemis scenes hehehe. **

**Meanwhile, enjoy my fanfiction of what happened after the war according to _my_ imagination~ I've worked on this chapter for a few weeks because I wanted to put in more effort in my writing, improving each and every day, until I reached a standard I am finally satisfied with, then I could have enough confidence to start writing my own books. My story ideas are piling up already. Many new worlds ready to be explored. Many new inspirations. I'm so excited about sharing them with the rest of the world!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters here! **

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Apollo _really_ really did not want to do this. Besides, Aphrodite hated his baby sister after all. Maybe it was some trick of Eros' but right now, all he wanted to do was kiss Aphrodite— She was oh-so-gorgeous, oh-ever-so-tender, standing right before him, her bare skin inviting, her blinking eyes romantic.

Apollo tried to shake off that thought but it was impossible. He wanted her now. His baby sister could wait. She was not going anywhere either with her wounds that bad. Aphrodite was so much more important…

_What's wrong with me?_ Apollo shut his eyes and gripped his fists. _This isn't me. Artemis, I—_

Aphrodite reached out to him, her face illuminated with love, her expression sending one clear message: _You're mine, my love_. She touched his hand and put her face right next to his, so close he could feel her breath tickling his hair.

'Aphrodite, I—'

'Shh! I know, I know,' she placed a gentle finger on his lips. Her voice was soft, sweet and elegant. She wrapped her arms around Apollo's neck and pulled him in closer. 'I've been waiting for this since the beginning of time. We are together now, and things are finally alright.'

Apollo frowned inwardly. This was not alright. He did not want to do this but at the same time, he did not want to disappoint the beauty standing before him. She was the goddess of love! How could anyone reject her? But Artemis… Artemis…

'I'm sorry,' he began, a tear threatening to fall. He wished he could be strong enough to overcome these feelings. His body throbbed with the rhythm of his heartbeat as he held his head in his hands, unsure if he had actually gone insane or his heart was trying to tear its way out of his ribcage.

'Sorry for?' Aphrodite looked at him with wide innocent eyes. No one had ever rejected her when she gave them these puppy eyes. Not even Apollo.

Apollo shook his head and whispered to himself, 'I'm sorry, Artemis.' He took Aphrodite into his arms and their lips touched. He thought that Aphrodite was actually doing Artemis a favour after all by distracting him. He and Artemis could never be together. What was he even thinking? She was a virgin goddess and he needed to help her keep it that way, not take it from her. The kiss of the Sun and Moon was just an eclipse. Those mere minutes where the Sun and Moon aligned, everything fell in place and all was beautiful.

It was never meant to last.

Nothing ever lasted. Besides, Aphrodite was such an amazing kisser, he had to give her that. Apollo tried to ignore the pestering heavy feeling on his chest and pushed Aphrodite against the wall of gold with his body as their breathing synchronised with one another, both lips begging for more passion.

This did not last very long either because Artemis called out of the blue in his head.

_Apollo! _

Apollo's eyes snapped open instantly. His love for Artemis flooded back into his heart like a dam had opened up somewhere inside him. The feelings for Aphrodite were quickly overwhelmed into oblivion. He stared at Aphrodite's features just a few millimetres away and an unfamiliar sense of guilt hit him hard.

He pushed himself back with so much force he fell backwards. Artemis had also sounded very urgent, like she was in trouble. If anything bad had happened to her… Apollo don't even want to think about it.

Artemis should have been able to take care of herself, right? It was only a few minutes of distraction and something terrible enough to make her call for him had occurred? Oh, Styx, what was he thinking? She was still in pain!

Aphrodite looked down at him in shock. She obviously never had any experience with getting pushed away violently mid-kiss so she was gaping at him, her mouth hanging open like she had forgotten how to breathe.

This, of course, was not the main problem at hand. Artemis called for Apollo, didn't she?

_Artemis!_ Apollo sprang up, racing to his room at a speed that could have matched Hermes', leaving a seething goddess of love behind. _I'm coming!_

When Apollo threw open the door of his room however, the sight that greeted him could have set his ichor on fire. He chided himself for succumbing to Aphrodite's spell. He should have known better than to leave his injured baby sister alone for more than a while. She was the most beautiful goddess in Olympus, no matter what others think, that Aphrodite is the beauty goddess, there would always be pursuers of Artemis if Apollo could not be there to keep them at bay. (Of course Artemis always knew how to protect herself but which brother in the world would not do everything they could to protect their sister, and let alone now that Artemis also held his heart?)

The messenger god was comfortably perched on top of his twin sister, his face just inches from hers. Artemis was gripping her fists tightly, trying to control her lust. Like him, she had tears threatening to fall. She tried to look fierce and intimidating enough to send Hermes away but a part of her longed for Hermes too. That vulnerable euphoric sensation that love brings was undeniably fearsome for its intoxicating addictive factor that one had to give it more than their all just to resist.

Apollo could see that in her eyes.

'I'm going to be okay. It is Eros who did this to us,'she whispered through her clenched jaw.

So it was Eros! That explained the unexplanable excitement he had felt back there with Aphrodite. Apollo made a mental note to get Eros later, for messing with him, Hermes, and especially his baby sister.

If Artemis could withstand these temptations, the love magic would wear off her in a while. Goddesses of chastity had better resistance to Eros' love arrows. It was set in their ichor the moment they made the oath of chastity.

Apollo marched up to his bed and shoved Hermes off. Hermes tried to protest but the look on Apollo's face silenced him. 'Get away from my baby sister before I do worse things to you!'

'I— I'm sorry, Apollo. I don't know what's gone into me, I've never held such strong feelings towards your sister before but she… I…' Hermes clambered off with his eyes filled with tears from anger, frustration and love.

Artemis exhaled, glad that the main threat had been removed. She had survived another lust attack, like always. 'It is Eros, brother. It's not Hermes' fault.'

'Did he do anything to you?' Apollo asked.

The goddess of the Moon shook her head sadly. 'I saw you though, Apollo. I saw you and Aphrodite.'

Damn it. Apollo grunted and punched the wall. Somewhere in Africa, a new plague broke out, destined to kill people by the thousands. He should have seen this coming but he was too preoccupied with saving Artemis to remember that he still had find a way to explain his side with Aphrodite.

'It's alright, I understand. Eros did this to us. I sense no intentional harm,' she smiled a smile so sad it made his heart break into a million tiny pieces. 'And to put his little trick aside, I feel better already. You can tell father that the council could commence now.'

Maybe she was so disappointed with him that she had nothing more to say about that. Apollo tried to shrug the thought away. 'The council's not that urgent if you're still not feeling well you know, I won't let you do anything if you're still hurt.'

'Our world is at stake, Apollo,' Artemis rolled her eyes. 'My head is a lot clearer now. I can manage, thank you very much for your concern. I am the Huntress, _and_ the protectress. They need me.'

Was she rolling her eyes regarding his paranoid thoughts? Apollo certainly hoped so. 'Okay but you have to promise me something.'

Artemis raised an eyebrow. 'What is it, brother?'

'Don't leave until I come back for you.'

'Apollo…' she groaned.

'Promise me! I don't want you to be hurt any further, _please_.'

Please was the magic word. Apollo knew that much. He rarely used that word and when he does, it was only for his baby sister.

'Okay,' she sighed. 'I promise.'

'Swear it on the River Styx.'

Artemis glared daggers at him and Apollo laughed, holding up his hands in surrender. 'Jeez, I'm kidding, sis. Don't you know that? You know I trust you, right? C'mon, lighten up! Didn't you say your head is clearer already?'

He sidestepped the empty medicine bottle Artemis flung mischievously in his direction and winked before making a dramatic show of sauntering out of the room so as to convince his sister that nothing had really changed between them. That no matter as twins or lovers, they do still love one another, despite the recent drama.

He hoped.

Closing the door behind him, he leaned on the wall for a while, considering his next step. As the god of prophecy, Apollo was well aware that Zeus was in the throne room, but first, he had to do something very important.

Facing the closed door, he held up his arms and gently shut his eyes, willing a protective barrier to enclose the place securely. A small portion of his subconsciousness dedicated to guarding her. A thin, golden sheet of aura burst out from one end and spread in a steady pace, its golden gleam occasionally catching in the light, causing a twinkle like a star despite broad daylight.

Otherwise, it is invisible enough to not let Artemis notice.

Nowadays, protecting Artemis had to be done in secret lest he hurt her dignity, but hey! It was necessary. He couldn't risk seeing her in pain. The council needs her, especially when a war was upcoming. Also, her hunters need her, so does camp Half-Blood…

Okay fine, he needs her the most. Whenever she was suffering, he would know, naturally, and he would do anything he could to save her. Apollo loved her too much now to risk anything, and not being able to know how and where she was at any part of the day would drive him crazy. He must prevent anything wrong from happening to his beloved sister, so overprotectiveness is very much necessary.

After he was sure that every corner is sealed, his lips curled up in satisfaction. There! A golden shield meant for keeping out anymore naughty gods or goddess (Yes, _especially _Eros) from reaching Artemis. He was finally assured that at least for now, no harm would come to the most important woman in his life again while he was away.

He spun around on his heel and set foot for the throne room. It was quite a distance considering how wide Olympus was but Apollo wanted some time for himself to think so he chose to walk instead of summoning his chariot.

To be totally honest with himself, since he was the god of truth and all, Apollo was feeling extremely remorseful that he had taken up Aphrodite. Even though Artemis knew it was not his fault, he could not help it but felt like one of those cheating, adulterous males that his sister had hated so much and sworn to avoid.

Not that he was not one before though. He admitted he used to philander but times were different now.

Maybe it was a wrong move to want Artemis this way but being with her every time feels right. No doubt Artemis felt the same way, he could hear it in her inner voice every time he gave her a visit. It was in her touches, gentle yet excited, cold on the skin yet warm in his heart. She gave him feelings not even Aphrodite, the goddess of love could.

Apollo had never really flirted with Artemis either. It was not just fun and games, run and chase. Apollo genuinely cares. If she insisted on being a maiden goddess, he would respect that. If she ever needed somebody, he would be there.

Maybe, just maybe, Artemis was fated to be his everything, twin sister, best friend, soulmate, lover, the Moon that reflects his light, the stars that shine with him in the sky. It did not matter that they had hurt each other, she was his other half. When two people were completely perfect and complement with one another, eventually, they would always find their way back together.

And maybe this is the time for Artemis to venture out into love. With him.

He was going to change for the better, he promised. Aphrodite would be his last mistake. For Artemis, he would do anything. He could give her everything she wants for her love. He would show her he could change for her, be the best only for her. He can do it. He must. It was only for their own happiness.

The door of the throne room was wide open, like Zeus was expecting him. Of course, who would not welcome the god of the Sun with open arms? Besides, as the lover of the Moon, he had a promise to keep. And this time, he would be loyal. She was meant to be his after all. Happily ever after. At the same time, he would never force her into anything she did not want to do.

How did the mortals nowadays say it?

'_Are we goals yet?_'

Apollo straightened himself and put on a wide grin as he strode into the throne room. 'My lord Zeus, Artemis is ready for the council.'

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**Thanks for reading! And some replies to my beloved reviewers~**

**Mizz-incezt: Nahh, you did okay! Maybe the English could be improved a little but the idea was there and I loved the story. Every new chapter gives me enough happiness to last for quite a while. (I'm not even joking, it really makes my day, Idek why) **

**JaDe In NighT: About that... Dreams are never clear that way, aren't they? Even in the PJO novels, sometimes they are the past, sometimes the present and others, the future. That's what happened in reality regarding our dreams too. ;)**

**All reviews are greatly appreciated! Even if you think my writing was bad. I can acknowledge a constructive feedback. :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: First of all, I want to tell how terribly sorry I am for this late update. I had the chapter ready for publication for months but I wasn't very sure with it so it was kept in pending for some time. **

**Secondly, I **_**know**_** the Trials of Apollo; The Hidden Oracle is out now and I've read it, realising this fanfic isn't going to be as relevant as before because Apollo didn't go down to the mortal world in mine. However, I'm going to keep updating it, as an Alternate Universe kind of thing if Zeus had not made Apollo human, but sent the twins to CHB instead. **

**Don't read if you don't like the idea of things not going the same as the books. Meanwhile, I'll try to stick as closely as I could to the new series update. Even though in my story, the oracle still worked. I might include the new characters from the series. Tell me if you want me to. Will upload that one in a week or two. I'm still editing it at the moment. Follow me as an author for updates on that story.**

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Artemis had a hard time trying to figure out what are these strange feelings that emerged since sharing a kiss with Apollo. Firstly, her heart fluttered whenever they met eyes. All the ichor would rush up to her cheeks and the Moon in the sky glowed brighter even without her conscious control. Having known Apollo since they were in the womb, this was not even supposed to happen.

Secondly, there was also that intense hatred she momentarily experience. She just want to load her bow up and shoot countless of different types of arrows, straight into the heart of Aphrodite to show her how much it hurts to see her tricking her man over like that.

Wait. Man? What man? Apollo had always been just a boy in Artemis' eyes, hadn't he? What in the world is _wrong_ with her today?

Thirdly, let's not forget her hunters… Thalia and those others who were supposed to follow in her footsteps... Oh dear dear! How is she going to explain herself to her loyal hunt—

_Pssst!_ Apollo whispered in her mind.

Artemis panicked and scrambled mentally as she sat up in her throne. She had already blocked her thoughts from Apollo before she started thinking of him, hadn't she?

Apollo seemed to be able to read her mind even with that defence. He rolled his eyes teasingly. _I don't know details of what you're thinking but it's written all over your face, an expression only a loving twin can read, like yours truly. _He winked._ To put that aside, however, Father asked for your opinion and now the entire council is looking at you. Is the huntress caught unaware now?_

Artemis silently cursed herself under her breath and stood up. 'Yes, father.'

'She'd cast Thalia a vote to fight alongside us. That's a no brainer.' Athena commented.

'Erm… We have to first know who the three prophesised quest kids are so that we can rule them out.' Artemis said, hoping with all her might that she had answered the right thing. Apparently, she did because Zeus nodded in agreement.

'Oh yes. Apollo, god of prophecy. Don't let me down again. Who are these three kids for the quest?'

Apollo bowed and Artemis' thoughts involuntarily went, _Oh my gods! He's bowing! How cute! See the way his hair bounced. Wow I can't believe I kissed those lips._

_Shut up_, she told herself after she desperately regained control of her mind. She hated herself for that. _You're becoming like that silly weirdo Aphrodite._

'By now my Oracle, Rachel Elizabeth Dare, would have given the prophecy to the campers. They are selecting campers for the quest' Apollo snapped his fingers and an Iris message materialised, facing the council of gods showing a live stream of the drama going on at the Big House in Camp Half Blood.

'And now, it looks like they've decided.' In the Iris message invisible to the campers, three campers stood up while the rest of the campers grunted and Chiron said, 'May the gods be with you.' Apollo waved his hand and the Iris message dissipated in a cloud of rainbow.

To be honest, Artemis was a little disapproving of the group. They were all male campers! However she knew she had no say on it. If the Fates had decreed it to be, there was little she could do as well. At least she was now free to choose her lieutenant to fight with the gods, next to her.

'In that case, Athena's right. May I propose my loyal lieutenant and sister-in-arms, your daughter, Thalia to assist us up here in Olympus in the war against Prometheus?'

'Of course.' A smile crept up the corner of Zeus' lips. 'A child from each of the big three—'

'Ares is a child of yours already,' Hera snapped in jealousy.

Zeus cleared his throat, 'A hero child from each of the big three. Or heroine. Or any other non-god child.'

Poseidon raised his hand tentatively. 'Percy shall fight with us.'

A few murmurs broke out, arguing for the reputation of the gods. Everyone had remembered. Percy had once turned down the gift of immortality. Nobody turns down immortality. It is offending to the gods.

'He's a great fighter, regardless.' The sea god argued.

On the throne next to Artemis, Athena snorted. 'Though his brain is like yours; Seaweed brain.' Artemis smiled. Some people never let grudges go.

By the end of the meeting, it was agreed that the three strongest (and most famous) children of the big three would fight alongside the gods.

In a few minutes, Hermes had collected Thalia, Percy and Nico to Olympus. The three demigods did not look surprised to have been summoned but Artemis noticed some awkward tension between Percy and Nico.

'Children of the Big Three,' Zeus said. 'The Council has seen fit to summon the three of you for your, ahem, help with the war against Prometheus and his allies. Would you join us?'

Upon this news, Thalia was the calmest among them. She bowed and said, 'It is our honour, father.' Artemis was proud of her lieutenant.

Percy on the other hand, was stunned beyond words. 'But… I… Kind of promised Annabeth I…'

'We would have to grant you and Nico temporary immortality, I guess.' Zeus sighed. Ares grinned and Zeus quickly added in, 'and no, Ares my son, you're not allowed to be the one to kill them. It's a team effort now.'

Percy laughed nervously, wiping his hands on his pants as he nodded, thanking the gods and glancing at Ares sceptically.

Meanwhile, Nico's eyes darted quickly between Percy, Zeus and his father. He might not be completely over Percy yet and now he had to work with him. Maybe things were not being very fair to him here but how much of fairness does the children of Hades can get?

Nico started to say something but Aphrodite pulled him away with a wink. 'I got this, everybody. Resume your plans.'

Artemis frowned. Nothing good comes out of Aphrodite's ideas. She was about to go after the goddess of love when Zeus out of the blue decided to questioned the twins about the very glorious looking eclipse.

'It was unusually beautiful,' Dionysus admitted. 'What did you guys do?'

'Um, we had a warm embrace…' Apollo stuttered.

Artemis chimed in, 'Oh yes! We rarely did that so we decided to make it extra beautiful today.'

'But why now?'

'Well… We figured now with an upcoming war, it would be nice to create some heavenly miracles for everyone to appreciate before havoc breaks out.' Apollo forced a smile and adds on in his sister's mind. _Shit, that was a little fake, wasn't it?_

_Smile naturally, you idiot. _Artemis thought back as she beamed a little too brightly than usual at their father. 'Yes, it's the little things that matter after all.'

Zeus cocked his head, unconvinced. Aphrodite returned with Nico and she started to step forward but the twins quickly glared at her, daring her to tell the truth. If she did, Artemis could think of a thousand ways to make her life even more miserable after the war.

'Oh these twins,' she sighed. 'So synchronised. Wouldn't be surprised if they were lovers.'

Thankfully, the rest of the Olympians did not buy it. Everyone laughed. 'Oh c'mon Aphrodite, that's impossible! If Apollo had even dared to cross that line, you wouldn't be seeing him here with us right now.'

There it is. Artemis felt that pinch of guilt again. Everybody had trusted her so much to keep her vow and now she had let them down. Apollo had his apologetic yet concerned eyes bore into her but she could not bear to meet them. It was not Apollo's fault. The choice was made by her and her alone. If anyone should be punished, it would be her.

_No. _Apollo stood firmly by her side, keeping up the façade that nothing is going on between them by joking good-naturedly along with the rest. _We're in this together and we'll announce it when the time is right._

Artemis shook her head. _No, Apollo. You don't get it. I never wanted any of it but in the end I still succumbed to temptation. I was never supposed to—_

_Hush hush, _Apollo interrupted, wincing at her choice of words. _Whatever happens, what really matters is that we should be fighting side by side together. Nothing changes. We've always been together. _

The mood is strange. It has never been in Apollo to be the sensible one. Love does the weirdest things, and this love was not even a feat of Aphrodite's. It was fate. Judging by the jealous glower in Aphrodite's face, it was going to be this very same fate that she was going to fight against. The goddess of love was not done with them yet. Not even close.

Artemis moved ever so subtly a little closer to Apollo, putting herself between him and Aphrodite. Lover or not, Aphrodite was not going to touch Apollo ever again.

'Enough!' Zeus decided and started to shoo the twins and Dionysus out. 'Off to camp, the three of you! And Hermes, I've some things for you to do.'

'Things to do, things to do!' Hermes echoed with a smirk in his tone. Artemis sighed. At least he was back to normal now. Or at least, on the surface…

When they reached camp, Artemis tugged on Apollo's sleeve and pulled him aside while Dionysus talked to Chiron and the questers. She had some important things that he needed to know before anything goes wrong.

'Brother, I am not ready for this relationship to go public yet.'

Apollo grinned from ear to ear. 'So this is a relationship already?'

'That's not what I meant!'

'Don't worry, I understand!' he said as he turned towards the big house and gestured to his head. 'Twin telepathy. We'll be okay.'

Artemis still wondered why, somehow, she felt something big is about to go very wrong. Even worse, she had this funny feeling that it is going to be her fault.

Pushing the negative thoughts aside, Artemis resumed her regal pose and continued her way to the big house with Apollo. They are about to meet the questers and send them on an arduous journey. If she looked the least bit distanced, how are the demigods going to be encouraged at all?

_It's going to be okay_, she assured herself. So much stress. This was why she had never been a fan of romantic love. _Work first, emotions later._

* * *

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